THE BOOK OF POEMS IN TWENTIETH-CENTURY ... - TopReferat

Like Christ in the wilderness, Lavinia is repeatedly tempted by Satan. He is first
depicted in the book's twenty-fifth poem, titled "Соблазнитель" in the later editions.
Here, Lavinia describes what happens when someone fails to pray before bed: Приляжет
рядом бес—как бы супруг (a demon lies next to you, as if your husband). Upon
waking, the victim is grabbed by the neck and, half-asleep, enters into carnal relations
with the incubus (И в полусне с инкубом вступишь в связь). 232
Unlike Christ, she is
unable to resist; instead, like Eve, she is seduced by the tender words (Он шепчет на ухо
так ласково слова) of the cold, ancient snake (холодный, древний змей). 233
It is
unclear in the poem whether this seduction actually takes place—whether Lavinia herself
is seduced. Lavinia uses the generalized ты form throughout the poem to suggest that
this is something that happens to anyone who goes to sleep without praying. The fact
that it happens to a half-asleep victim adds to this sense of vague unreality.
It is not until the twenty-ninth poem that Lavinia is actually captured by the devil,
who describes her as an easy victim:
Вы ловитесь на то же, что и все:
Вино, амур, ням-ням, немного славы.
Не надо вам изысканней отравы,
Вы душу отдаете как во сне—
Так старый бес мне говорил, зевая
И сплевывая грешных шелуху,
И за ногу меня в мешок швыряя.
You are caught by the same things that everyone is:
Wine, amour, yum-yum, a little bit of glory.
You don't require a more refined poison,
You give up your soul as if in a dream—
So the old demon spoke to me, yawning
232 As a nun, Lavinia's husband is Christ; here the demon is disguising himself as Christ, suggesting that he
is indeed Satan, and not an "ordinary" incubus.
233 In the book's fifty-ninth poem, "Стою ли на молитве или сплю," the devil again tempts her with
forgotten, carnal love: Лукавый...шепчет про забытую любовь. This time Lavinia resists, pushing her
"naked, fat love" (нагая, жирная любовь) back into its grave: я вниз/За плечи уложу покойницу уныло.
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